assault_assaultpoint

Class hierarchy
CAssaultPoint ↳CPointEntity ↳CBaseEntity
ai_behavior_assault.cpp

assault_assaultpoint is a point entity available in all Source games except Left 4 Dead series. These entities form the body of an assault chain, specifying where the assault should go once it has begun. There can be any number of them in each chain. Make sure you are using ai nodes, otherwise you will have to have an assaultpoint for every single corner in your path.

Bug:Specifying an assault_rallypoint as the next assault point will crash the game!  [todo tested in?]

Bug:When moving to an assault point partway through a chain, the NPC will go to the standing posture for a moment before continuing. This bug is fixed in the HL2 Episodes.  [todo tested in?]

Note:Unfortunately, there's no keyvalue to define a range at which an assaultpoint can be considered cleared. This means that if you have a large group of NPCs in an assault, the fact that they will continually attempt to move directly onto an assaultpoint, even if another NPC is standing there, can also break the illusion of realistic movement. Try making a trigger around your assaultpoint (once or multiple) that sends your assaultpoint a SetForceClear input with a fair delay time to make sure everyone is still grouped together.

Note:Assault points only affect the journey to them, not from them.

Note:NPCs will always turn to face in the direction the entity is set to when arriving at an assault point if they don't see an enemy before reaching the point. You can change the direction, indicated by a small yellow line, by changing the middle number of the Pitch Yaw Roll keyvalue.

Tip:Naming assault points the same name will cause NPCs to randomly select one.

Flags

Clear this point upon arrival, UNCONDITIONALLY : [1]

Move on to the next point once reaching this one, regardless of any other influences.

Keyvalues

Name (targetname) <string>

The name that other entities refer to this entity by, via Inputs/Outputs or other keyvalues (e.g. parentname or target).
Also displayed in Hammer's 2D views and Entity Report.

See also:  Generic Keyvalues, Inputs and Outputs available to all entities

Assault Hint Group (assaultgroup) <string>

Constrain the movement of the NPC(s) participating in the assault to this hint group once assault has begun.

Next assault point (optional) (nextassaultpoint) <targetname>

The assault_assaultpoint to move to next.

Assault time out (assaulttimeout) <float>

This point is cleared when no enemies are seen for this long (specified in seconds). The NPC(s) at this assault point will scout for enemies this long before moving on.

Clear on contact with enemies (clearoncontact) <boolean>

If the assaulting NPC meets enemies on its way to this point, it will consider the assault point cleared and target the next assault point in the chain.

Allow diversion (allowdiversion) <boolean>

If the assault comes into contact with hostiles on the way to this assault point, divert to kill them and resume once the area appears clear.

• If it set to Yes, NPCs will chase any hostiles until they are dead or out of sight for the period set in the Assault time out.
• If this is set to No, assaulting NPCs will run non-stop to the next point, attacking enemies they can see but not chasing them.

Diversion Proximity (allowdiversionradius) <float>

If Allow diversion is set to Yes, NPC will only divert from assault to attack an enemy that is within this distance of the assault point. 0 means no limit.

Never Timeout (nevertimeout) <boolean>

If set, the assault never ends for NPCs assaulting this point. Useful for forcing NPCs back to a point.

Strict? (strict) <boolean>

If set, NPCs may not move to attack, avoid danger, or move out of the player's way.

Force Crouch (forcecrouch) <boolean>

NPCs using this assault point are forced into crouching while holding it.

Bug:This only works for NPCs that crouch as part of their natural AI, such as Alyx and Combine Soldiers.  [todo tested in?]

Urgent (urgent) <boolean>

If set, NPCs will consider movement to this rally point as Urgent Navigation (ignoring prop_physics blockers, eventually teleporting).

Inputs

SetClearOnContact <boolean>

Sets the Clear on Contact with enemies keyvalue. Accepts 1/0 or Yes/No as parameters.

SetAllowDiversion <boolean>

Sets the Allow Diversion keyvalue. Accepts 1/0 or Yes/No as parameters.

SetForceClear <boolean>

Set the Force Clear flag. NPCs who are currently running to the assault point will clear it immediately. NPCs who acquire it in the future will clear it automatically.

Outputs

OnArrival

Fires when a NPC arrives.

Note:This can fire more than once since NPCs tend to divert from assault points to reload or avoid danger.

OnAssaultClear

Fires when the point is cleared (arriving and clearing can happen at completely different times).